Bent
by vine
Summary: For one hundred years, the fourth House of Hogwarts had remained empty. The Houses of Water, Earth and Fire grew and changed, while the wizards and benders of Air faded from reality and became dusty myths. An Avatar/Harry Potter melded worlds fic.
1. The Entrance Hall

A/N: This is an AU fic, obviously. I have altered some character's ages, in order to make everyone able to fit in properly. I also lay no claim to any of the characters here. So no suing. Constructive criticism is much appreciated, as these fandoms don't exactly mesh perfectly of anything. Tell me how you think I did at combining the two. And any information as to the last names of the characters would be wonderful. Thank you! :A/N

The Entrance Hall

The train pulled to a stop, and the students began to file out. One of the last figures to emerge was a small, slight first year, with his deep hood pulled far over his bald crown. He looked around, and hurried in the direction of the giant man, who was bellowing over the noise of the students.

"Firs' years, over here. Firs' years!"

Stepping lightly, he hoped into one of the boats waiting in the dark lake, as the boat bobbed under his weight. He stumbled into one of his boat-mates, who jumped, but didn't turn.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry." He sat down quickly, to avoid doing any more harm. There was no answer from the girl he had bumped, so he took his apology as accepted, and turned to watch the large stone castle that would be his home for the next year.

"Hogwarts," he whispered, and bent even deeper into his new black robes. The wind wrapped around him, causing him to shiver. Listening to the water splash in the boat in front of them, his boat pulled into the castle in silence.

The silence turned to whispers as the first years were herded into a small room, and left alone to wait. Nerves ran high, and there was more than a hint of hysteria in a few of the louder voices.

"How do they sort us, again?"

"Dunno. Heard it's tough."

"My brother says it's really embarrassing!"

"Your brother's a liar!"

"He's the liar," said the girl beside him. He turned, and got a good look at the girl for the first time. She was even shorter than he was, which was saying something. Her short black hair was tied in a knot at the top of her head, revealing pale white eyes and a bored frown.

"Oh." He shuffled. "How do you know?"

Sighing, she turned so that she was almost facing him, though her eyes were still staring blankly ahead. "I can just tell."

There was an awkward silence. "Well, do you know how they do the sorting?"

She opened her mouth just as the door opened. The newcomer cleared her throat, and the blind girl shut her mouth.

"Welcome, first years. I am Professor McGonagall, and this is how things will be proceeding today." She looked strict enough that not even a blind person would dare cross her. Meaning no offence to the girl standing beside him, of course. "When we go out into the hall, you will all line up. As I call your name, you will step forward, and try on the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat will then decide which House you will belong to. Any questions?"

Nodding her head at the silence that followed, she turned and headed out the way she had come. With whispers to mark their passing, the first years all fell into place behind her.

"Told you he was lying," was the last thing the blind girl said, before walking away. He marvelled at how she maneuvered so well without a cane or even a seeing-eye creature. Impressive.

Catching the tail end of the line, he pulled his hood down even tighter around his ears. He really needn't have bothered. There was enough dust kicked up by another arrival that he remained unnoticed.

"The Boy Who Lived."

"Yeah, right over there."

Fingers pointed, heads turned, and he felt sorry for whomever of these boys was The Harry Potter. It was a lot of attention. Poor kid.

McGonagall stopped their line in front of a high chair, on which perched a tall, raggedy hat that looked about to fall to pieces. Clearing her throat, she pulled a long roll of parchment from her robes, and called out the first name.

"Abbott, Hannah!"

A thin, trembling slip of a girl tottered up to the stool, climbing up onto it, and letting the hat fall over her face. Neither the hat nor her twitched for a long moment, before a long rip peeled away from the brim, and shouted her destiny.

"Water!"

The long table to the far left erupted in cheers, as the deep blue banner above it swayed.

"BeiFong, Toph!"

The blind girl stepped out of line, freezing for a moment until McGonagall subtely cleared her throat. Toph caught the hint, and began to make her way towards McGonagall. Another cough had her stop before she ran right into the stool.

BeiFong was a big, well known name, and it surprised him to hear it. He hadn't known that the richest Earth wizards in the world had a daughter. Though it was pretty obvious what house she would be sorted to. No sooner had the hat touched her head when it shouted out 'Earth!' to the waiting Great Hall. An older student met Toph at the stairs, but the girl shook off the helping hand, instead making her own slow way down to the cheering table on the right.

He drifted in and out of the next few sortees, as calls of 'Fire!' 'Earth!' and 'Water!' echoed through the air. His eyes were fixed on the empty table on the far right. No one sat there, and the yellow banner that hung above it was limp with the weight of it's own dust. No one had sat at that table for almost a hundred years. And by the way that people's eyes skimmed over it when they looked around the hall (he knew. He could tell), it seemed that everyone had all but forgotten that there had once been a fourth house. One that stood just as strong as the others. Before the Sorting Hat had stopped sending people there, and it's last warriors and students had faded away.

It was the last house. The dead house that had once been home to the pupils of Air.

The boy fiddled with his fingers, and waited for his name to be called.

Sokka was watching his sister fidget. She looked so small, standing up there with the rest of the first years. She didn't have anything to be nervous about. She'd been showing signs of water bending since she was little. He didn't know where she got it- he'd be lucky to make the water budge.

Katara's name was finally called, and she almost stumbled as she was grabbing the hat. Hopping up onto the stool, she jammed the hat on her head, and waited.

Her brother waited with her, watching her breath catch and her head nod ever so slightly. The rip on the hat opened, and her shoulders relaxed.

"Water!"

Sokka clapped harder than anyone else at his table, letting out a whoop for good measure. Katara's face went red as she took off the hat, placing it back on the stool before running over to the Water table. Sokka made space for her beside him, and she collapsed on the bench, grinning stupidly.

"Well done, sis." He grinned at her. "See, that wasn't too bad."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You shush. My heart's still pounding."

Sokka snickered at his sister's nerves, glad that she wasn't here last year to see him almost faint during his own sorting. Most people had forgotten about it anyway.

Turning his head, he saw a very pretty girl at the Earth table snicker in his direction, and his face heated. Most. Not all.

"Potter, Harry!"

The whole hall fell silent. Sokka craned his neck to see the boy, and beside him he felt his sister sit up straight as well.

The Boy Who Lived didn't look all that impressive. Long, shaggy black hair. Small build. Not the kind of kid that had the power to silence a whole hall of excitable teenagers.

The whispers began to spread as the hat slipped over his eyes. A few people crossed their fingers under the table. After almost a minute, the hat twitched.

"Earth!"

Sokka's shoulders slumped, as the table on the other side of the room burst into cheers. Some of them were even taking up a chant- "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

McGonnagall would have none of that, though there was a smile on her pursed lips. Earth was her house, after all.

"Roku, Aang!"

A short boy stepped out of line and walked over to the hat. McGonagall grabbed his shoulder before he was able to put the hat on his head, though.

"You will have to take the hood off."

The boy nodded, and slowly removed his hood. There were a few short bursts of laughter at the odd symbol on his head, Sokka included, but if he had taken a glance at the head table, he might have seen how all of them stiffened. The boy took the Sorting Hat, and let it fall, covering up the large blue arrow on his bald head again.

Sokka's stomach growled, and his sister elbowed him.

"Shh!"

Now that Katara had brought it to his attention, there was something different to this boy. More than an odd tattoo. Even the hat stiffened when it came in contact with his head.

The time it took for it to chose Harry Potter's house was unusual. This was just painful. One minute, then two, then three passed. Finally, just as students began to stir and realize something was wrong, the hat opened it's wide mouth.

"Air."

And the world of Hogwarts was once again thrown harshly into balance.


	2. The Empty House

A/N The second chapter is here. This one focuses on Aang, and the next one will focus on Harry. I have not much else to say. I don't own anything, thank you for reading. Constructive criticism is welcomed. A/N

The Empty House

Aang emerged from the frightening recesses of the hat to a stunned school. His knees locked as he fell from the stool, and he stumbled a step before catching himself. No one laughed.

He tried to walk as fast as he could, but it wasn't fast enough. He was still passing the Earth table when every mouth in the Hall opened and began to talk at the top of their lungs. One boy at the Earth table jumped to his feet, making weird noises as he began to foam at the mouth before collapsing. By the way no one around him moved to help, though, this might just be normal for him. Trying not to listen, he couldn't help but catch pieces of the conversation.

"...must be a mistake-"

"Prank, to get our attention?"

"Demon! Nothing but a filthy liar!"

"Silence!"

The booming voice of the Headmaster did not need to be amplified by magic. Even without it, the word echoed in the corners and lingered with the last few students to comply. In the wake of the order, Aang planted himself on the dusty bench of the empty Air House table, and ducked his head. It was harder for them. He had known it was coming, and even he was shocked. There had been a part of him that was sure, when it finally came to it, that there had been some mistake, and he would be sorted into any of the other houses.

But no. That was not how destiny operated. He was the last Airbender. Just like his Master had said.

The Headmaster was standing now, and no one dared interrupt him as he opened his mouth. Albus Dumbledore wore his power easily, but it was not a force that any sane man questioned.

"The Sorting Hat cannot be possesed or coerced by magical means." He did not waste any time in getting to the point. "Now, let us all calm down, and we will continue with the Sorting. I know that I, for one, am eagerly awaiting the Start of Year feast." Scattered laughter. But a tall boy from the Earth table stood up.

"Professor, you can't expect us to believe that this little boy really is an Air wizard. They're extinct!"

Another figure stood up, this time from the Fire table. This one had their back to Aang, but their high voice marked them as a girl. "And everyone knows that table is just for show. No one even remembers where the Air Dormitories are!"

Professor Dumbledore just laughed at this. "That is no concern of yours, Miss Clearwater. I can assure you that this school has always catered to four Houses, and is set up as such. Also, Mister Tyro, it is very hard to prove that something is extinct. We have evidence on the contrary right in front of our eyes. Now," he dipped his head to McGonnagall, who returned the gesture in a jerking fashion, shock still obvious in her eyes. "Let's finish sorting these first years."

McGonnagall nodded, and looked back down at her list. "Thomas, Dean!"

Aang didn't rise his head again until the sorting had finally finished. After Zabini, Blaice had been sorted into the Fire House, the golden plates shimmered, and were suddenly filled with food. The Hall got noisy again, and Aang could almost feel the many stares burning into his back.

"Here we are, Mister Roku, sir."

Aang jumped, and turned around. A little bald man thing dressed in what looked like an old pillow case was standing behind him, holding a tray stacked high with food. "We apologize for the delay. The kitchen was not aware that anyone would be dining here tonight."

Aang smiled, and helped the house elf slide the heavy tray onto the table. It left a track in the dust, and Aang wondered who had been the last Air student to sit here. Did they know they were going to be the last one for a century?

"Thanks," was his quiet reply, and he began to fill his plate. The house elf bowed, and disappeared in a crack and a poof of smoke. He didn't let his eyes drift for the rest of the meal, or the speech afterwards. They would get used to him. Tomorrow would be easier. And the day after that, better still. This managed to bring a real smile to his face, and he began to eat with a true appetite.

After the Headmaster was done his beginning of year speech, the tables began to empty, as the students filed out and began to make their way to their various dormotories. Aang remained where he was, and fervently hoped that the Fire girl had been wrong when she had said that no one knew where the Air dorms were.

He was just about to get up and try to find the rooms on his own, when light footsteps approached him from behind. When he turned around, he was met with a surprise. He didn't think that Dumbledore was able to move that quietly.

The Professor smiled at him, and he returned the guesture weakly. "Do you mind if I sit, Mister Roku?"

Aang shook his head, not bothering to cover up the confused look on his face. "Of course."

Professor Dumbledore sat on the bench beside him, and Aang squirmed, wondering what the old man wanted.

"I don't need to know if you're a bender." This only succeeded in throwing the boy even more off balance. "We will find that out tomorrow. As for your schedule, I will have to go over it with your teachers. Most likely, you'll be slipped into one of the other House's first years. The Water House, maybe?" He paused, and Aang, realizing that he was waiting for a confirmation, nodded. "So that should all be easy. As for your dorms and such, it's true that I don't know exactly where the Air dormitories are. But I do know someone who does. They will show you to your rooms, and then we can all go to sleep."

He stood up, and Aang scrambled to follow. "Thank you, sir!" He ducked his head in a jerky sort of half bow, and Dumbledore smiled in return, before walking out and disappearing through a door hidden behind the staff table.

A tug at Aang's sleeve had him turn around. The little house elf was back, and it smiled widely at him. "Follow me, Mister Roku, sir. I will show you to your dorms." And with a bow, the house elf turned and walked out of the Great Hall, with Aang folloing close behind. Of course. The servants always knew more about the home than even the smartest master.

The elf led him up and up, manuvering the maze of moving staircases and disappearing halls as easily as anyone else would stroll down a street. Aang gave up on trying to remember the twists and turns. He would pay more attention in the morning, when going down for breakfast and the traditional first year trials. Anyway, no many how turns they made, they were only going one direction. They had to be in one of the towers by now. Which made sense. The Air dorms would be as close to the sky as it could be.

When the elf stopped suddenly, Aang almost ran right into it. "Sorry!"

THe elf just turned around and smiled. "No problem, Mister Roku."

Aang's cheeks were beginning to turn red. "And just Aang is fine. Are we there?" There was nothing around but the staircase we wer on, winding upwards, and the blank wall in front of them.

But the elf cackled. "Yes, we are here, Mister Aang." Pointing one long, knobby finger at the wall, he tapped at the stone. "No body remembers the password, but Knarl can Apparate you in."

Aang swallowed. Apparating did not sit well with his stomach. He stared at the wall, trying to see what made it different from all the other pieces of wall surrounding it.

"Wait!"

Knarl gave him an odd look, but he paid him no mind. Instead, he took a deep breath, and placed his fingers on the wall. Yes. There was a pattern there. Tight curls, flowing lines. And punctuated through the whole design were three small holes. Not ones you could see with the naked eye, obscured with a thin layer of poreous stone. But he could feel the air currents moving through, and beyond.

Testing something out, he pushed at the air in those small empty spaces. Then, taking a deep breath, he blew out sharply, letting the wind slip through the cracks, and rush through the passages into the space behind the wall.

There was a click, and the wall fell away. Knarl squeaked, as Aang poked his head through the opening.

Though coated with a thick layer of dust, the Chambers of Air were gorgeous. Aang walked in with his jaw slack as he took in the spacious Common Room, with two twisting staircases leading up to what he assumed were the two dormitories.

He already had one foot on the bottom of the closest staircase when he realized that Knarl wasn't beside him. No, Knarl was still standing at the entrance, his buggy eyes stretched even wider. His long fingers twitched, as his mouth struggled for a moment.

"Bender."

Aang turned back towards the elf, and grabbed for his arm. He looked shocked enough to bolt. At least if Aang was holding on to him, he'd be taken along for the ride.

"Wait!"

He didn't want this to get out so quickly. People were already shocked, already frightened. If they found out he could bend, too- actually airbend, the first airbender in almost one hundred years- he might attract enough attention to prove too dangerous. He didn't want to have to leave. Not again.

"Please don't tell."

The elf was giving him a strange look. But his eyes were shrinking back to normal size, and his breathing was less sporadic. "Would you like to have your things brought up now, Mister Roku?"

Aang let go of his arm, and took a deep breath. "Sure. Yes. Thank you." His crossed his fingers as he watched Knarl Apparate away. It was out of his control now. He turned back, beginning to explore his new home as he tried to put the troubles out of his mind. For a little while, at least.


	3. The First Night

The First Night

A/N: Rather dull intro chapter. As every first year will be in it at least a little bit, so I thought it might be a good idea. This will show who is in what House, as even some of the familiar friendships from Harry Potter have been split up. It will also introduce you to a bit of what Avatar characters I've decided to include.

* * *

The Earth Boys

Harry tried to take in as much of the castle as he could, as Ron's brother led them to their dorms. Once they were inside, and Harry had finished memorizing the password (or he hoped he had. Troll's Breath?) him and Ron ran up to their rooms to see that their trunks were already there. So too were their new roommates.

"Harry Potter, right?"

The boy that was asking was at least a head shorter than Harry, and his toothy grin made him look even younger than the rest of them. He was also wearing what Harry thought must be a large Muggle army helmet.

As Harry nodded, Ron leaned in and tapped the helmet, making a dinging sound as the metal vibrated. The boy made a face at him. "Watch it!"

Ron stumbled back again, surprised by the sudden glare. "Sorry."

The boy stuck out a hand, smiling again. "The Duke. Pleasure to meet you."

Harry and Ron glanced at each other, disbelief obvious in both of their eyes, before Harry ventured out and shook the odd boy's hand. He was still beaming, though his eyebrow went up when he glanced at Ron.

"And you are?"

Ron made a quick attempt at a smile. "Ron Weasley."

The Duke nodded. "So, nervous for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Harry glanced at Ron, who looked just as confused as him. "What's tomorrow?"

The Duke's eyebrows went up. "You don't know about Bender testing? They get all the first years in the Great Hall, and test to see what kids are benders. Most of them already know, but it's custom."

"Oh," Harry stood there, feeling very stupid for a good thirty seconds. "Sorry, what's bending?"

Now both Ron and The Duke were giving him weird looks.

"Where did you grow up?" The Duke questioned. "The middle of a swamp?"

Harry shuffled. "I was, ah, raised by Muggles." Had Hagrid mentioned bending when he was showing him around? Maybe in passing. He couldn't remember anything specific. "I didn't know about wizards or anything until a month ago."

Both of the boys stared long enough for Harry's cheeks to heat unpleasantly. Then The Duke smiled, and slapped him on the back.

"That's alright, mate. I was raised by a pair of Squibs, so I know the feeling."

Harry tried to return the smile as he regained his balance. The boy was stronger than he looked.

"Bending is a special kind of magic," Ron explained. "Not everybody can do it. It makes you able to control an element." He laughed at Harry's bewildered expression. "Yeah. I met a waterbender once. Brilliant."

"So," Harry made a face as he tried to wrap his head around the idea. "There are waterbenders, earthbenders, firebenders, and airbenders."

The Duke shook his head, causing his helmet to slip over his eyes. "There hasn't been an airbender in over a century, though."

Ron's eyes widened with excitement. "So, what about that boy getting sorted into the Air house?"

Reaching up to fix his helmet, The Duke's eyes brightened as well. "I know! Imagine if he were a bender!"

While the two boys pondered this, Harry took a moment to look around their room. There was four beds. He wondered if this meant that someone was missing, or if there was just an extra.

A huge thud at the door made them all jump, and a pudgy, disheveled boy stumbled in, looking worried.

"Has anyone seen my toad?"

The three boys shook their heads, and the newcomer's shoulders slumped. "He keeps getting away from me." After a long, awkward pause, the boy looked up again. "Sorry. I'm Neville Longbottem."

The Duke tilted his helmet. "The Duke."

"Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter."

Neville looked a little off balance as his eyes lit in recognition. "Right! I knew that."

Another awkward pause.

"So..." The Duke looked at the three of them, then showed off his toothy grin. "Nervous for tomorrow?"

* * *

The Water Girls

Katara smoothed over a wrinkle in her covers, before slipping between them and listening to her new roommates talk.

She had already figured out that one of the other girls, Hannah, was a water bender as well. She listened to Padme sigh about her sister in Fire, and the last girl- Susan, was it?- wonder about the boys. She tried to hide a smirk at the mention of an older Water guy with a funny haircut and a cute smile. It looked like her brother had caught some of the girls' attention. As if his ego wasn't big enough already.

She hadn't even noticed that the attention of the girls had changed focus until Padme pulled the curtains from around her, and stood there, hands on hips.

"Uh..." She wasn't quite sure what she thought of her roommate yet. "Yes?"

Padme smiled. "So, do you think that Susan's boy was actually making eyes at her?"

Relaxing, Katara found herself mirroring Padme's wide smile. This conversation was something she could handle. "I don't know. Sokka makes eyes at everybody."

Susan peeked over Padme's shoulder, eyes curious. "Wait. You know his name already?"

"I should." Katara sat up, stretching. Maybe it wasn't time to go to bed just yet. "He's my brother."

Hannah had wandered over, too. She seemed to be the shyest of the three, hiding herself behind Padme and Susan. Now, all of them leaned in, looking surprised and very interested.

"Spill." Padme demanded, and the girls seated themselves on her bed. Laughing, Katara pulled herself out of her sheets, sitting on top of them instead.

She had an evil look on her face. "So, what do you want to know?"

* * *

The Fire Boys

Draco laughed as the fire spread over his fingers. "Boy, am I going to have fun tomorrow. Hey Crabb, Goyle, you think Potter's a bender?"

The boys looked at each other, then shrugged.

"Not as good as you?" One of them chanced. Draco nodded in approval, not taking his eyes off the bright flame. The two cronies relaxed.

When Draco started to toss the fireball from hand to hand, all the while proclaiming the greatness of his family and his bloodline, Blaice decided it was time to move himself out into the Common Room. Better to spend a night on the couch than to wake up at some ungodly hour with his hair on fire.

The last boy, Theodore Nott, just rolled his eyes, and turned over. They'd better not keep him up.

* * *

The Earth Girls

There was a loud shriek.

"What is THAT?"

Toph didn't twitch. She had heard the girl open the door, her footsteps suddenly stop, and her short intake of breath. She had known it was coming.

"Its a badgermole. Calm down, Lungs." Lungs. No, not really the right feel. But it would do until she got to know the jumpy girl.

There was an immediate change in the girl. Hip stuck out, arms crossed.

"My name's Lavender." She sounded put out, though there was still a bit of a quaver in her voice.

"That's nice." Toph replied. She still didn't turn around to face the girl. Maybe Flower power was a better name. Wasn't that a Muggle thing? Whatever. And her voice was powerful, that was for sure, even if nothing else about her was.

Lavender hmphed. "Well, I-"

She was cut off by another two bodies stumbling through the door. One of them tripped, and Toph lost contact with her for a moment as she left the ground. She landed much for gracefully than she was expecting, catching herself in a roll before springing back to her feet.

"Hey, watch it!" The first person's voice was low and androgynous, but Toph assumed it was a girl. They were, after all, in the girl's dorms.

She was quite proud of herself for that one, actually. She had just found the first year dorms, and guessed which one was for girls. She had had a fifty percent chance of getting it right, after all.

"Sorry, sorry!" The second newcomer was nervous. Toph could tell right away. Figuring it was time to turn around and pretend to look at her roommates, she did so.

Someone- she assumed it was Lavender- gasped.

Toph mimicked the taller girl's stance, crossing her arms over her chest. "What? Never seen a blind witch before?"

One of the girls started to shake their head, before realizing what they were doing, and freezing. Toph smirked. How awkward for them.

After a moment, one of the unfamiliar girls came forward. The taller, nervous one.

"Sorry. I'm Hermione Granger." The girl froze, her hand twitching at her side. She had been about to try and shake Toph's hand.

"Toph BeiFong." She held out the badgermole that was currently crouched in her hand. "And The Hippo."

She paused for a moment. Nope, no laughter. This was going to be more dull than she thought.

"Smellerbee." The low voice said, and shuffled. She started talking before anyone could comment on the strange name, "Is there someone else? Because there are five-"

The door burst open, and the final roommate ran in, gasping for air.

"Jin!" Silence, and the last girl squirmed, trying to break it with a laugh. "I mean, hi. I'm Jin."

More silence and shuffling. Toph sighed, and turned back towards The Hippo. Maybe she should have listened to her parents and stayed home after all.

* * *

The Water Boys

"Checkmate!" Dean cackled, while Justin frowned at his king as it threw off its crown.

"That was just luck," he growled, while his two other housemates cackled behind him. The four boys had hit it off right away, though Justin had challenged Dean to a chess match as soon as he had seen Dean unpacking his own set.

"That's what you said last time," Terry reminded him, as Seamus still hadn't stopped snickering.

"Best out of five?" Dean offered with a grin, and began to set up his pieces once more.

* * *

The Fire Girls

Azula frowned as she surveyed her new quarters. Shared, of course, but there was no way to avoid that. It was a tradition even her father couldn't twist her out of. And anyway, it gave her more opportunity to study her new potential followers.

Ty Lee, already lounging in the bed beside her, was an old friend. They had grown up with each other, and the girl was used to following her orders. Mai, in the year above them, was the same.

The rest were unknowns. She had heard good things about the Parkinsons, and she had met their daughter a few times before. She seemed interesting, but not particularly powerful. She also bore an unfortunate resemblance to a pug. She also was used to being followed, so Azula marked her as someone to be watched, and knocked down a peg if necessary.

The girl Pansy was talking to was a Bulstrode. Millicent, or something horrible like that. Good for cannon fodder and grunt work, but not a brain in the whole lot of them. Even if Pansy did manage to sway the girl to her side, one demonstration of the scale of Azula's power and Bulstrode would be following her every word.

Those that she understood, that was. Azula had no tolerance for fools.

Parvati Patil. The last girl. In this one Azula felt promise. And Ty Lee was already chatting animatedly with her. Maybe she wouldn't even have to try to pull this girl in.

Well, it was a start, Azula mused, as she pulled the curtains around her. Then her lips stretched into a gentle frown. Of course, there a few unpredicted hurdles. The Boy Who Lived, of course. Potter. He could cause some trouble. Though her father knew about him, she was sure.

But what about the Air boy? She hadn't caught his name.

Quickly, she grabbed a quill and fresh parchment from her bag. Her father would want to know as soon as possible about this latest development. Musing over wordings, Azula let her usual smirk stretch her features. She would make those two issues her personal projects. Daddy was going to be so proud.

* * *

A/N: Whew! That was annoying. Some of those were much longer than others, yes. But they were basically to show what characters fit where. And don't worry- there are a whole bunch of second years that will play important parts as well. Just in case you noticed that a few key players were missing.

Anyway, boring chapter. But the next one will be a lot more fun. The Bending Testings are coming your way next! And again, any comments as to how the characters are translating, or concerns you might have as to logistics, just drop me a line. I'm trying to keep this as canon as possible. Well, character-wise, at least. Also, couple ideas? I think I know what I want to include, but was curious as to how my readers (are there any? Probably not after this long AN) felt.


	4. The Bending Tests

The Bending Tests

Katara woke with a start. For a moment, she couldn't even remember why. Then it hit her. Today was the first day. The Bending Tests.

She shivered uncontrollably, and hurried to get dressed. The Bending Tests took place before breakfast, which meant an early morning for all of the first years. In fact, the girls around her were already up, getting dressed and worrying. Hannah seemed to have gone so far as to refuse to leave her bed.

"I heard," she tried to tell them, though her voice was muffled by the pillow pulled tight over her face. "I heard they do it one at a time, in front of everybody. And what if I mess up?"

"At least you have something to show!" Susan had somehow managed to put her skirt on backwards. She was now struggling with her shoes. No one had managed to explain to her that she was trying to put them on the wrong feet. "I just have to stand up there, and duck when they throw water at me!" Face pinching, she threw her shoes at the door. "I could have sworn these fit me fine yesterday!"

"They were on the wrong feet," Katara pointed out, reaching for her own shoes.

"And I doubt they'll chuck water at us." Padme passed the shoes back to Susan, and patted her on the arm in a half-comforting, awkward way. "Otherwise, how would they test the Fire House?"

"I wish they'd set them on fire," Susan muttered. "It would make me less nervous."

The room fell silent at this. Even thought the war had officially ended eleven years previous, there was still some strained relationships over where various families had sided. Especially some of the more prominent Fire ones.

Padme's cheeks were bright red. If Katara remembered the Sortings correctly, Padme's sister had been put into the Fire house. Sometimes, it wasn't as simple as this family you trust, this one you don't. Even Katara, who's family had been Water House for generations, had a distant cousin who had been on the opposite side on the war.

"I'll see you downstairs," she muttered quickly, and disappeared out the door.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Susan's face had gone pale, and Hannah had finally sat up. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she looked as if she were trying not to remember something unpleasant.

"I didn't mean that."

The only answer to Susan's whisper was the door sliding shut, and a half-sympathetic glance from Katara.

"Don't take too long. I'll save you a seat." Her words didn't do much to cover the misstep, but it was all she could do. Katara left as quickly as Padme had, and headed down to the common room.

To her surprise, there was someone waiting for her there. Sokka, his gravity-defying bedhead betraying the fact that he had just woken up, met her with a smile.

"Hey, sis! Off to your Bending Tests?" He laughed at the expression on her face, then enveloped her in a quick hug. "Don't worry about it. It's not nearly as bad as everyone says it is."

"Thanks, Sokka." His arms pulled away after a moment, and she smiled, knowing he didn't want anyone to think that he liked having her as a sister, or anything. "I'll try to remember that."

He gave her a pat on the back, then shoved her to the door. "Knock 'em dead!"

This was enough to surprise a laugh out of her. She twinkled a few fingers at him, and headed down towards the Great Hall feeling a little better about the whole thing.

Her nerves did begin to get the best of her as she came face to face with the large double doors that was all that was between Katara and what could end up being a lot of embarrassment. This thought made her freeze, hand on the door handle, before the sound of someone clearing their throat made her jump.

"Sorry." It was a boy, sheepishly grinning as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay." Her cheeks had gone red, and she dropped her hand in a hurry. She must looked like three kinds of idiot, standing frozen in front of the doors like she had been. "I was just, ah-"

"Nervous?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

They stood there for a moment, both trying not to make it obvious that they were looking at each other. After this became past ridiculous, the boy stuck out his hand.

"I'm Aang."

Katara's eyes widened. Of course! She hadn't recognized him right away, but now that he had mentioned his name, she realized it should have been obvious. The accents on his robes were a yellow that no one else in the whole school had the right to wear. This was the Air House kid.

"Katara." she shook his hand, unsure of what else to say, when they were inturrupted by a tall, dark-haired girl, who swept past them and through the doors with her nose high in the air.

"Out of my way."

"Please," the girl behind her added, grinning widely as she flipped into a handstand and followed the dark-haired girl inside on her hands. Katara blinked. The second girl had been wearing pink muggle leggings underneath her robes.

"I guess we should go in," Aang grabbed the door and held it open for her, which did nothing to help Katara's blush.

"Yeah. Thanks," she muttered, and hurried in. He let the door slip shut behind them.

They were met with the sight of the four house tables, three occupied, one empty. The first years sat around them, faces pale. Most of them were turned away from the door, focused in on the three figures that stood on the dais. They were talking amongst themselves, but their eyes were on the students, watching and searching for those they might soon teach.

"I guess I'll see you around," Aang tried to grin, but his nerves made it look forced. Katara was sure her returning smile looked much the same.

"Yeah. See you." She felt her heart go out to him, just a little, as he walked over to sit at his empty table alone. This boy she didn't know.

Shaking her head to clear it of thoughts she didn't need at the moment, she spotted Padme over at her own table, and hurried to sit next to her.

"Do you know how this works, then?" Padme whispered to Katara as she sat down. There was no need to whisper, really, but no one seemed to want to break the spell of silence that hung over the hall.

Katara shook her head. "My brother wouldn't tell me. Apparently, it's supposed to be a surprise."

"I hate surprises," the other girl muttered, and this struck Katara as ridiculously funny. Or maybe it was just the nerves that caused giggles to bubble over in her throat, spilling over in a hushed cackle that sounded more like hysterics than humor. Padme's eyes went wide, and then she joined in.

Over at the Earth table, Harry raised an eyebrow as he stared at the two laughing Water girls.

"At least someone here is having fun."

Ron, beside him, only nodded. His throat was too dry for speech at the moment.

"This is fun. I'm having fun." Duke's grin was lopsided, and his helmet kept slipping over his eyes. "You're not having fun?"

"What if I'm not good enough?" Neville had been repeating variations of the same line for the last ten minutes. "I can hardly earthbend. What will I do?"

The people sitting near him had already tuned him out. Except for one.

"Please. It can't be that bad." Harry glanced over at the girl who had spoken, and was taken back by her blank staring gaze.

Ron seemed to be looking in the same direction, because he nudged Harry with an elbow, and dropped his voice below a whisper. "Hey, is she... you know-"

"Blind, not deaf." Ron jumped, and both boys looked up guiltily to see that her eerie, empty stare was now trained right on them. Ron's jaw dropped. Whether to talk, or merely out of shock, Harry never got to find out. At that moment, one of the figures at the front of the room cleared his throat, and a silence swept through the hall in a terrifying suddenness that sent chills down more than one person's spine.

"I am Pakku," said the old man dressed in blue. "These are Bumi and Jeong. Let us begin."

The man in green snickered harshly, causing a few of the first years to jump. "Abbott, Hannah! Come up here and show us what you can do!"

A girl rose from the Water table, her eyes as wide as saucers in her pale face. With quick, stuttering steps, she came to stand in front of the three figures.

The man in blue stepped forward. In his hands was a small glowing ball. With a swift twitch of his fingers, it turned into a rope, and extended towards the quavering girl.

"Can you take it?" the man asked, not unkindly. Hannah gave a jerky nod, and reached out her hand. The water rope shuddered, then met her hand halfway, coiling around her outstretched hand.

"Well done," the man beckoned the water back, and Hannah bowed. When she turned to go back to her table, there was a relieved smile on her face. The Water table broke into applause, as she collapsed back in her seat.

"That didn't look too bad," Ron whispered in his ear. Harry gave a jerky nod, and even Neville looked a little more relaxed.

The blind girl was the first of the Earth house to be called up, and she almost looked excited, as she went up to stand in front of the oldest man of the three.

"He looks a bit terrifying." A girl Harry didn't know the name of pointed out. And it was true. Hunched back, bug eyes and a toothy grin that seemed much too large for his face.

Neville whimpered.

"A BeiFong, eh?" The old man cackled. "What fun!" Without warning, his foot stomped down on the ground, and a rock flew out of it, heading straight for the blind girl's face.

There was a collective gasp. But no one need have worried. A shift of feet, and a rock wall exploded from the ground in front of the girl. The rock missile bounced off of it harmlessly, and the wall retreated back into the earth.

It all took less than ten seconds. The girl nodded her head to Bumi, then went back to her seat. Even some of the Water table applauded her. Bumi was still giggling away. "Well done, well done! Excellent!"

"Blimey." Ron seemed to have been rendered nearly speechless. He repeated 'Blimey' a time or two more, until the Duke began to poke him. Then he was quiet.

Harry wasn't even listening to him anymore. He found the whole process bizarre. This bending wasn't magic, it was something else. And it scared him more than magic had.

The examiners seemed to be able to tell who possessed these gifts, too. Bumi just laughed and waved the Duke away when he went up there. The Fire tester didn't even say anything. He would stare at the frozen student for a moment, then nod and hand them a leaf, which usually burst into flame once it contacted the first year's hand, or just shake his head.

Neville almost fainted when his name was called, and he needed a little nudge to get him on his feet, but when Bumi sent a rock flying at him, he was able to deflect it with a hurried fist. He practically ran back to their table, and his face was a bright cherry red when he got there.

"Kill me" was all he said.

When Harry's name was called, the silence seemed deeper than before. As if everyone were holding their breath.

Harry's legs felt unsteady as he headed up to those three intimidating figures. Bumi was grinning wildly at him, but now that he was closer, he could see a calculating look in those popping eyes. Maybe this man wasn't as crazy as he seemed.

When he reached them, there was a long pause. Then Bumi clapped his hands. Laughter spilled out of his grinning mouth, and he waved his hand at a startled Harry.

"Sit down, Harry Potter! You're not our problem!"

Harry understood the looks of relief that had been obvious on every first year's face before him.

Next up was the Air boy. Pakku stared hard at him for a few awkward seconds, before letting out a sigh.

"I-"

"Think fast!" Just as he had with Toph Beifong, Bumi sent a shard of rock spiralling at the boy. The boy looked frozen for a moment, and Harry's muscles tensed as he readyed for impact. But then the boy spun his arms in a spiralling motion, and the rock flew to the side.

No one applauded. Not even after he had bowed to the instructors, and headed back to his empty table. Instead, whispers circulated, much as they had yesterday. And, again like they had the day before, it wasn't until Jeong shot a loud, crackling stream of fire into the air.

"Continue."

The first years shut up.

The rest of the bending tests went smoothly. With the last two names called both showing their aptitude for fire, they were finished. There was a collective sigh of relief as the three men disappeared into a door behind the staff table, and the older students began to file through through the now-open main doors.

"How'd it go, Ronny-kins?" Ron's older twin brothers had found them. They sat on either side of the blushing boy, and speaking loud enough to get some odd glances.

"Anyone pass out this year?" Harry couldn't tell them apart quite yet, but he thought this one might be George.

"Do people usually faint?" Harry wouldn't be surprised. If he had been kept up there any longer, he might have done so himself.

""One or two a year, maybe." Then that one was Fred. Maybe.

"That, or someone gets set on fire."

"Or crazy Bumi-boy knocks someone out with a rock." Fred turned to his twin, ignoring Ron, who was still stuck between him. "Remember that guy, what was his name?"

"Dunno." george lowered his voice to a stage-whisper. "Right in the nose, poor boy. We call him Foamy now."

"He never was the same..."

"So what do we do now?" The Duke righted his helmet, and flashed his smile in the twins' directions.

The twins shared a wide, evil grin that had Harry wanting to back away from the three.

"We tour around," said the one twin.

"And cause general mischief," finished the second.

"I hate you." Ron's voice was muffled between his brothers. Everyone pretended not to hear.

* * *

AN: Plot comes in next chapter. I would love to hear couple suggestions, as well as who's POV you would like to see/enjoy seeing more of. Thanks to all!


	5. The Lesser Child

The hooded figure paused at the abandoned house's entrance, before slipping inside. The floorboards, coated with dust, protested loudly at his intrusion, but there was no one living to hear.

This house was thought to have been destroyed at the end of the war, almost a decade ago. But still it remained, hidden from all but those who knew what it was. What it meant, this skeleton of a former age. Memories waiting to be claimed.

Despite the complexity of the hallways and rooms, seeming to be thrown in such a meaningless order, the invader found what they was looking for without much trial. Tucking the object under their cloak, they brushed the ancient ashes out of the fireplace, choosing to ignore the blackened marks that had marred the stones years before. Instead, with a simple finger movement, a fire sprung into place once more, crackling in the dust-filled air.

A rebirth from the ashes.

The figure unfolded a prewritten letter, coated in sparkling dust, and threw it into the now-green fire with a whispered destination to speed it on it's way. The master would know of their success soon.

As the intruder left, closing and locking the door behind them, the house breathed a relieved sigh. The real secret still lay undiscovered within it's recesses, waiting for the proper owner. Waiting forever, perhaps.

-----

Zuko had already decided that his second year at Hogwarts would be worse than his first. In fact, perhaps he might as well make a preemptive strike and give the go ahead to call this the worst school year he was ever going to have.

Case in point. Azula had come to town.

She had distracted him throughout the whole Sorting, and he couldn't help but beg, beg beg for her to be put in one of the Houses. Any House, as long as it wasn't his.

But it was a silly thing to hope for. The fire progedy got Sorted into the Fire House, and he had a problem. Go figure.

Mai gave him a knowing look, when she saw that he wasn't clapping at his sister's Sorting. She understood, even though she was Azula's friend. She understood what kind of force his sister was.

The very blonde boy took the seat next to Zuko, and gave him a once over with cruel, knowing eyes.

"Do I know you?"

Zuko was not in the mood. "Perhaps. I don't know." The boy did look oddly familiar. A child of one of Father's friends, maybe. He had stopped trying to keep track of all the visitors in his house, preferring to train and think in silence, alone.

They all end up on Azula's side, anyways, he reminded himself with a scowl.

And the boy was still staring at him. He had sat on Zuko's right side, which was why he was still in doubt. Anyone who saw the left side of his face knew immediately if they recognized him or not.

Azula sat down on the boy's other side. Zuko's scowl deepened.

"Hello, brother." That sickly sweet smile on her face made his stomach churn. "Won't Father be proud? Another Fire witch."

Like he didn't see it coming. Azula had been shooting sparks since before she could walk. And Father was always proud of her.

"Yes. I'm sure he'll be delighted." If Azula caught the bitter note in his voice, she chose not to comment on it.

The blonde boy was looking from one of them to the other. "You... you're Ozai's kids?"

Azula gave the boy a razor-sharp smile. "Yes, of course. And you are?

"Draco Malfoy," the boy spat out in a hurry, his eyes now fixed on Azula. Zuko's tense shoulders itched to unwind, but with Azula so close by, he didn't think he'd ever really feel safe relaxed.

"I know the family." His sister was doing her best to look bored, but Zuko knew her well enough to see that the drop of his family name had piqued her interest. "The question now is can you live up to it?"

Zuko made a face. Watching this was just as bad as it would be to watch his sister flirt. It just made him feel ill. All this one-upping, trying to consort with those worthy enough for you, while still trying to prove that you were better.

It was too much for the first day of school.

Mai shot him a weird look from across the table when he stood up as soon as Dumbledore had dismissed them, but he didn't notice. The gloomy girl was always glaring anyway.

Lee caught up to him halfway to the dungeons. "You alright, mate?"

Lee Jordan was, Zuko supposed, his best friend. By default, really, seeing as he was one of the only people Zuko actually talked to.

He wasn't a pureblood, so he was sure that as soon as Azula found out, he would be hearing from Father. Or maybe Father would just ignore him, and force him to spend yet another summer rotting at his drunken uncle's house.

He would just have to get better marks this year, is all. Shouldn't be too hard. And this year, he could try out for the Quidditch team, which would make Father happy. Happy enough to let him come home.

Lee was saying something again. Zuko blinked, and looked over at the boy. "What?"

The boy was used to his funks, and his only sign of annoyance at Zuko's lack of interest was a roll of his eyes.

"I asked whether or not you're trying out for the Quidditch team. They need a new Seeker. And Bole tried to fight a troll over the summer, so he'll be at St. Mungo's for a while, and the team needs a couple of Beaters."

"Oh." Beater. That was more up his alley. But Father wanted the best, and the best played Seeker. "Yes. I'll be there."

Lee clapped him on the back. "That's the spirit! And I've applied to commentate the matches, so I'll be able to make you look even better than you are!"

This got a wry smile out of the morose boy, as they reached the bare stretch of wall that marked their common room.

"The firsties won't be back yet," Lee commented. "And you took off so fast, I don't even know the password yet."

Zuko scowled. It sounded to him that Lee was saying it was his fault they were now stuck outside their room. "Sorry," he muttered, not at all sorry.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, and a flickering light betrayed who it was as a firebender. Lee made a face when he saw who it was.

"Bigot," he muttered. Zuko didn't bother asking who it was. The fire-bearer had already stepped into his line of sight.

The large boy smirked at them, and from behind him, among the train of first years, Zuko could feel Azula's condescending grin.

"Waiting for someone to let you in, boys?" His voice was booming, and much louder than it needed to be. It made Zuko want to cover his ears, but he had more dignity than that, at least.

Neither of the second years bothered to answer him.

"Tsk. I am a Prefect now. It would be best to answer promptly." He turned to his group of first years. "Mind you don't turn out like these two next year. Bad examples of the House. Agni Kai!" He shouted the last two words, making Lee, Zuko, and most of the first years jump. The stone wall in front of them opened, and Zuko and Lee scurried inside before the new prefect thought of more insults to throw at them.

Collapsing on his bed inside of their dormitory, Lee sighed. "What an ass."

"Shut up." Zuko sat on his own bed, the farthest from the door, and one down from Lee's. "People don't call him Combustion Man for nothing."

"He can't be fifth year. No fifteen year old is that big. I bet he's part troll, and his parents just didn't want to admit it."

This was natural. They had often complained about Gordon Kane, commonly called Combustion Man, last year, after the older boy had chosen them to be his first year victims of the term. It appeared as if this trend would continue to this year as well.

They probably would have been relieved to know that Gordon, though still not going to pass up a chance to bother the two, had lost interest in them. They were much too easy. Anyways, his days of petty bullying were over.

In his own dorm, still empty of his year mates, Combustion Man, named that for his talent for explosions, took off his signature bandanna and smirked at what he saw reflected back to him in his small, cracked mirror. Furrowing his brow, he concentrated on a chip in the stone wall. Easy did it.

With a zap, the stone was once more even. Staring at his newly transfigured third eye, Gordon couldn't help but laugh.

"Easy pickings."

* * *

A/N: So, I just read somewhere that the Houses are already roughly based on elements. But, as they don't match up for my story, I'm going to let this slide. It is, after all, an AU.

I apologize for the short chapter, which took so very long in coming. It was only after writing a few chapters of this that I remembered what huge fandoms I was combining, with so much back story and detail. So I had to plot it out before I could continue. I offer Zuko as a sacrifice to your wrath. Oh, and one good thing is that now that I've got it all sorted out, I plan to update within the next week or so, and the updates should be pretty steady after that.

Hope I didn't disappoint too horribly! Thanks for reading.


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